Willie Colon (knee) placed on Pittsburgh Steelers' IR

[Count Steeler]

Because it wouldn't be December if the Pittsburgh Steelers weren't battling a swarm of injuries on the offensive line, we have this:

The team announced Tuesday that guard Willie Colon was placed on season-ending injured reserve with the knee injury he aggravated in a Week 14 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Removing Colon off the active roster paved the way for the arrival of running back Rashard Mendenhall, who returned to the team Monday following his one-game suspension.

It marks the third straight year Colon has been shipped to IR, but this time the Steelers have a plan. Rookie David DeCastro made his debut at right guard in Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys with Ramon Foster slotted at left guard.

"I thought (DeCastro) did a nice job (with) very few, if any, mental errors," coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.

DeCastro and Foster might be a combination that sticks going forward if the Steelers aren't interested in paying Colon the $5.5 million he's due in 2013.

link http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000113546/article/steelers-place-ol-willie-colon-on-seasonending-ir

[Dwinsgames]

doe's an injury settlement for a guy like colon relieve them of their cap liability going forward ? 7.6 million reasons to find out that answer in a hurry

[Craic]

I really like Colon, but if Foster continues to show that he can play at the left side, and he continues to improve, then I think it's time to go young. That means we have 1 spot left to fill with a young guy, and we've turned our line over completely with players that have the talent to make a difference.

[steelreserve]

Hmm.
Cap issues ... check.
Guy who's missed most of last three years ... check.
Guy making $5M+ ... check.
Replacement lined up ... check.

Gotta say the odds aren't looking too great for Willie there.

[Shoes]

We'll keep him....... Lefty's going to be sporting his own design of sideline, clipboard casual ware next season. Might as well give Willie a shot too. :chuckle:

[steelerdude15]

Tough decision with Willie in the off season.

[Chidi29]

If my math is correct, it'll be cheaper to absorb the cap hit (2.15) than to keep Colon on the roster next year (5.5 million).

[Dwinsgames]

If my math is correct, it'll be cheaper to absorb the cap hit (2.15) than to keep Colon on the roster next year (5.5 million).


the total cap hit is 7.6 million , but the dead money would increase the hit ... you have to account for the balance of his bonus money it does not vanish ....

the bigger question ( I am clueless about this aspect and to late tonight to look around for the answer ) is if we offer an injury settlement can we circumvent the cap numbers from the balance of the contract ?

[Chidi29]

the total cap hit is 7.6 million , but the dead money would increase the hit ... you have to account for the balance of his bonus money it does not vanish ....

the bigger question ( I am clueless about this aspect and to late tonight to look around for the answer ) is if we offer an injury settlement can we circumvent the cap numbers from the balance of the contract ?

Just curious, where are you getting your numbers from?

[Dwinsgames]

Just curious, where are you getting your numbers from?

here .... http://www.steelersuniverse.com/forums/showthread.php/15673-Players-at-the-end-of-the-line-in-B-amp-G?highlight=oldest+youngest


datta I had in notepad that I put together for the above post from several places on the net

[Chidi29]

here .... http://www.steelersuniverse.com/forums/showthread.php/15673-Players-at-the-end-of-the-line-in-B-amp-G?highlight=oldest+youngest


datta I had in notepad that I put together for the above post from several places on the net

My fault, I forgot to figure in the remaining years.

So according to my contract sight, and if the contract works the way I understand it, it'll be cheaper to keep him than to cut him. 6.45 hit if we cut him (1.2 off original signing bonus, then a 3.8 million signing bonus given to him this year. 1.2+.95 = 2.15*3 = 6.45 compared to next year's base of 5.5).

[Dwinsgames]

My fault, I forgot to figure in the remaining years.

So according to my contract sight, and if the contract works the way I understand it, it'll be cheaper to keep him than to cut him. 6.45 hit if we cut him (1.2 off original signing bonus, then a 3.8 million signing bonus given to him this year. 1.2+.95 = 2.15*3 = 6.45 compared to next year's base of 5.5).


that is why I questioned what an injury settlement might do for us cap wise ... am unfamiliar with the rules of those and you do not hear of them with long term vets like you do rookies that get hurt in camp so not even sure if it applies ...

[steelreserve]

My understanding of injury settlements is that: 1) They can only be made in the same season the actual injury occurred, 2) The settlement counts against that year's salary cap in place of whatever remaining base salary was left, and 3) Any prorated signing bonuses still count against the cap like normal; that's money that was already paid and the same rules apply. Hard to find many definite answers in one place online, but these do a decent job of providing some different perspectives on it:

http://insidefootball.com/blog/archives/3058
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/236279-negotiating-an-injury-settlement-by-jack-bechta

Basically, the system is geared toward low-paid borderline guys who are trying to catch on somewhere, and the payouts are minimal. Highly-paid veterans like Colon aren't going to take a settlement; they're better off playing the game of chicken and hoping the team keeps them because of the signing bonus/dead money issue. And if he got cut, he'd still have the fact that he could probably make a couple million somewhere else to fall back on, since it's not a catastrophic injury and he more or less proved himself worthy this year of earning an OK salary.

In any case, there's no point to an injury settlement this late in the season, since there are only two games left and it wouldn't benefit either side. I guess in light of that and the cap numbers that I hadn't fully researched, I have to reverse my opinion and say he's pretty damn likely to be back with us next season.

[zulater]

At the right price I'd like to see them bring back Willie Colon. He's got experience both at guard and tackle now, so he'd be a good guy to have as a back up. Who knows maybe they could even work him a little at center in mini camp to see if he could replace Legurskey?

I don't think anyone will offer him a starters job with his recent history of ending every season on the IR. But maybe as a reserve he could actually finish out the season?

[Dwinsgames]

At the right price I'd like to see them bring back Willie Colon. He's got experience both at guard and tackle now, so he'd be a good guy to have as a back up. Who knows maybe they could even work him a little at center in mini camp to see if he could replace Legurskey?

I don't think anyone will offer him a starters job with his recent history of ending every season on the IR. But maybe as a reserve he could actually finish out the season?


based on the numbers it looks like we are attached at the hip with him , the cap hit is far to large to drop him and then have to pay someone else to take his spot on the roster ( would have 9 mill invested in that spot or more at that point ) ......

[KeiselPower99]

Guess we could restructure his deal. At least attempt to. I know last year he refused to restructure.

[Psycho Ward 86]

being "stuck with him" could turn out to be a positive predicament for us. The unbalanced line has gotten popular across the league. At 1st it seemed like most teams just threw in an extra tackle in there. Now some teams are throwing in an extra guard. Hell, the bengals have used 2 centers (wtf???) in their unbalanced line formations. We've never really had the o-line depth to pull it off. Colon, Foster, and Decastro is a promising group of guards. Maybe we could utilize all 3 of them for unbalanced line formations to run out of? Could be part of the solution for a revitalized run game that were looking for. Run blocking is a strength of all 3 anyways. And we all know Colon and Decastro can pull like nobody's business :noidea: